Huge haul of cigs seized

A SHOP worker has appeared in court after thousands of unmarked cigarettes were discovered hidden inside the walls of his Dewsbury store by a sniffer dog.

Revenue and Customs officers uncovered almost 20,000 illicit tobacco products when they raided the Middle Eastern Mini Market on October 26.

The South Street premises were previously searched in January 2014 as part of a massive police and trading standards operation.

This saw fake cigarettes and tobacco worth almost £100,000 seized from shops in Dewsbury town centre.

Shawan Hassan appeared in Kirklees Magistrates’ Court, Huddersfield, over the latest operation and pleaded guilty to possessing unmarked tobacco products.

Prosecutor Bill Astin said that HMRC officials searched the premises using specially-trained sniffer dogs.

They found 19,040 cigarettes and 12.4 kilograms of hand rolling tobacco.

He said that none of these items carried the required UK duty paid fiscal marks.

The unpaid duty on these items totalled £8,696, the Huddersfield court heard.

Mr Astin said: “This problem is rife in England and Wales.

“Organised crime is often involved and the loss of revenue is enormous.

“Some of these items were hidden inside the walls and were only discovered by the use of a specialist dog.”

Hassan, of Boothroyd Green in Dewsbury, said he’d only been working at the shop for a couple of weeks but was evasive when asked who the owner was.

District Judge Chris Johnson ordered the 29-year-old to pay £500 compensation.